Does the same GTA formula survive in the fifth installment?
Gameplay of San Andreas, like I said, is the same. Pretty much nothing has been changed besides maybe a few added weapons during missions. Mostly though, San Andreas features the same weapons in that of Vice City, and the "new" cars aren't all that impressive either. You can tell the developers tried to make more unique and original car designs, but they all mostly look and drive the same. It's almost like you can't even tell its a sequel to the GTA franchise, as it looks and plays exactly the same. There are some different missions, but you can't even tell they are varied because the gameplay is so similar. It's hard to see why this game got so many AAA ratings, as it gets so boring just running around, getting in a car, and driving off, shooting basically anything you see. This may sound fun, and it really is, the first time. But the fifth time around, the same gameplay just doesn't cut it anymore.
Graphics in San Andreas are just flat out ugly. Rough, muddy textures on all the characters and enviroments adds even more to the fakeness of San Andreas. I believe these graphics were even worse than Vice City's visuals, which is awful, seeing as Vice City was released years ago. As for the car models, they look great. Great, but just too much like previous cars in other games. The graphics, besides the car models, were pretty bland.
Now the sound in GTASA was pretty impressive, I must admit. Voice overs were done incredibly well, and the cutscenes were outstanding. I think Rockstar really worked hard on their sound effects. It's just too bad the visuals and gameplay weren't this good. I think I enjoyed listening to the characters talk other than actually playing.
San Andreas has a very good level of value, but mostly for newcomers to the GTA franchise. The gameplay last a good long time, considering it's a free roaming game, allowing you to do whatever you want. But unfortunately, this will only entertain the newer GTA fans, as they haven't played the franchise that much. I was in love with the GTA franchise, but after playing this for about an hour, i put it down, completely bored out of my skull.
Well, overall, Rockstar just needed to make some changes. There's fun to be had here, but after a while, you'll ask yourself, "This is a SEQUEL?" I think the game had some great potential, but Rockstar needs to rethink their ideas a little bit, that's all.